What sets apart a average swimmer from a truly great one?

Ah where to begin on this one... the same reason why not every struggling & starving artist has their work in the metropolitan museum of art.

So many possibilities. Percentage of fast twitch fibers, specificity of training, better technique, X factor?

And yet you are faster than a lot of others who might ask the same question of you.

And yet you are faster than a lot of others who might ask the same question of you. This is true. When I was at my peak as a teenager I probably could go undet 29 seconds a couple of times in 50 yard freestyle not meters. I mainly swim around 29 to 31 seconds. I'm not a freestyler. Today, I would be lucky to hit 41 seconds. Not all of us are great at swimming. Some of us do it for exercise as well. Not everyone is going to do a Laurie Val time of 1:04 that would get you a bronze medal at the 1956 Olympics for women in 100 meter freestyle.

And yet you are faster than a lot of others who might ask the same question of you. I'm with Orca on this topic. Everyone who makes the attempt is a great swimmer in my book. I work out solo most the time, coach a local Community Center age group swim club, and teach lessons to folks of all ages. It's fun to watch a swimmer learn something new, or overcome what they felt was out of reach.

I'm with Orca on this topic. Everyone who makes the attempt is a great swimmer in my book. I work out solo most the time, coach a local Community Center age group swim club, and teach lessons to folks of all ages. It's fun to watch a swimmer learn something new, or overcome what they felt was out of reach. This! Whether a swimmer has a five-rings tattoo & has been swimming since about birth or someone who is 90 and just came for their first swim lesson --and everyone in between-- it's all about the individual and their own relation to the water. These days I find it incredibly beautiful to watch and Olympic swimmer set a world record, to see them on the medal stand, and to also know that record may fall the next day. It's all so ephemeral. And yet no matter a persons level relative to anyone else it can be a huge amount of fun and satisfaction.

I've thought about this many times to find, the ONLY thing that sets apart a great swimmer from the average is the their resulting times.

How many Olympic swimmers do you see in local meets? Yes, there are some but, we not so fast swimmers stay in the pool for decades at our pace and race in each event we enter.

I mean, there's a laundry list of things. A great swimmer doesn't have to have all of these but each certainly helps.... I like this group of physical attributes. Let’s compare two Olympians, first the most awarded, Michael Phelps: Tall - Yes long arms - Famously yes long torso compared to legs - Yes wide shoulders - Yes ectomorph-to-mesomorph build - Yes big hands and feet - Yes big lung capacity - Yes flexible ankles, knees, and shoulders - Yes strong core - Yes high lactate threshold - Presumably high proportion of fast-twitch muscle - Yes And now Cody Miller: Tall - No long arms - No long torso compared to legs- No wide shoulders - Yes ectomorph-to-mesomorph build - Yes big hands and feet - No big lung capacity - No flexible ankles, knees, and shoulders - Yes strong core - Yes high lactate threshold - Presumably high proportion of fast-twitch muscle - Yes

I was always told the 4 "T's" will determine you ultimate levels of achievement; Talent - Technique - Training - Tools ...these are listed in order of importance and you only have the ability to work on the last 3. Unfortunately what our parents told us when we were kids was not true (ie. you can be or do anything you want if you try hard enough). However, as a master, I personally find satisfaction in my own improvements.